The All India Trinamool Congress is currently facing an existential crisis following its removal from power in West Bengal. A significant number of its MPs have expressed dissent against party chief Mamata Banerjee, and have rejected the authority of her nephew and Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee.
Saayoni Ghosh, the Jadavpur Lok Sabha MP infamous for posting anti-Hindu cartoon and Kaaba-Madina song, has also allied with the rebels.
On 11th June (Thursday), her parliamentary colleague representing Krishnanagar constituency, Mahua Moitra, sat down for an interview to discuss Ghosh’s “betrayal” amid the ongoing crisis. “I am in the Trinamool Congress and I am with Mamata Banerjee. So whatever the party does, we will follow. There’s no question of it,” she asserted.
Mahua then shared how hurt she felt due to Ghosh’s actions, who had been granted a “helicopter to go all over” and expressed, “Some things have really hurt me. Saayoni is like my child, like my sister. If anybody else left, I would feel no pain. But I look at her and she’s old enough to be my daughter. I really loved her like that. I really saw her growing into an opposition leader. And she’s only 33. My advice to people like that is, look, I know you’re scared, but unless we conquer fear, we conquer nothing.”
She then alleged, “Maybe it’s a combination of fear and other things. She has a father. I don’t know what it is. Because I can vouch that she’s not a disloyal, profiteering person. Look at what the party has given her in only five years. You joined the party in 2021. You got an MLA ticket, became the national youth president, got the Jadavpur ticket in 2024 that was Mamata’s seat, the most prestigious seat for the party. When people like that do that (jump ship), it’s very, very upsetting.”
Another chat from the soul with @IndianExpress . Thanks Ravik pic.twitter.com/KLtbHZoryt
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) June 11, 2026
Moitra condemned the dissenters, claiming that the seats were obtained in the name of the TMC and Mamata Banerjee. Therefore, opposing her is incorrect because this “mandate” was acquired in her name. The MP then held the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responsible for her party’s internal issues, alleging that there were two reasons behind it.
“One, that greed, treachery have no limits in humankind. It knows no limits. B is that the BJP are absolutely so desperate. After the drubbing they got on the floor of the Lok Sabha, where they didn’t get two-thirds majority, see the game for the BJP is to change the constitution to get two-thirds majority,” she stated.
Moitra then insisted that the BJP “using central agencies” to coerce politicians into compliance. She had “refused,” but there are others who become “frightened for their families and loved ones.” She also accused the saffron party of spreading rumors regarding public anger towards TMC, stating “We scored 2.6 crore votes and BJP only got 2.9 crore votes.”
Moitra also targeted TMC leader Shukrendu Shekhar who recently resigned from Rajya Sabha and mocked, “There’s more chances of him tripping on a stone and falling over than there are of somebody wasting five rupees to get a contract killer to kill him.” Shekhar had criticised the TMC regarding the RG Kar hospital rape incident, asserting that he could have been murdered by a contract killer had he resigned from the house earlier.
The parliamentarian voiced similar sentiments concerning another party leader, Prakash Chik Baraik, who also resigned from the upper house, stating that she does not even know him and that his decision does not affect the party, as he was solely appointed to satisfy a quota and nothing else.
Moitra accused the BJP of “rigging elections” in Maharashtra and Haryana, as well as intimidating opposition lawmakers. She asserted that all opposition parties must unite to combat the BJP; otherwise, they will not survive. She also declared that TMC will join hands with Indian National Congress for the next general elections in 2029.
